Blade Must Fall
21 October 2015
We gather here today to demand that Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande account for the lack of funding that is excluding young people from tertiary education and therefore an opportunity to improve their lives.
Minister Nzimande prefers to host summits and talk shops instead of acting to secure the funding needed to provide our youth with the education they deserve.
The root of this crisis stems from here, not Universities - as his lackeys SASCO try to portray in order to protect him and distract from this ANC Government failure.
We must not be fooled by opportunists that were in governance in Universities for years yet remained silent whilst fees increased and the ANC government funded Universities less and less. It is a crisis of a government which refuses to invest in the futures of our young people and we must equally hold that government accountable.
I have warned Blade Nzimande of this impending crisis time and time again, only for him to laugh it off. He has had 6 years as Minister to ensure that our futures are properly funded, instead he has done nothing. Now even still as Universities grind to a halt, he has the nerve to deny that there exists any crisis.
We are gathered here today make it clear that there is a crisis, and he must take full responsibility for it.
If only Blade Nzimande cared about young South Africans as much as he did buying a new R1.1 million BMW 750i – using public money – we perhaps wouldn’t be in this crisis today.
Democrats,
The truth is that if President Zuma was serious about accountability and cleaning up the mess, he would fire Blade Nzimande – as a matter of priority.
No South African should be denied the opportunity to pursue further studies because they do not have money. However, this is a reality for far too many of our young people and will only change when our government gets its funding priorities right.
Yesterday an agreement was reached to cap student fee increases at 6% for 2016 only. Let us be clear, this is a very temporary solution and equates to putting a band aid on a gaping wound. This fee cap will do nothing to address the chronic underfunding of institutions of higher education and the massive shortfall in NSFAS funding.
The ANC government saw fit to make R246 million available for Nkandla; SAA bail outs have cost South Africa R30 billion since 1999, with a R6.5 billion bailout announced earlier this year; the SABC paid R42 million in golden handshakes over the last six years; PRASA made a loss of R1 billion in the last financial year, with R20 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure and almost R10 million paid to now sacked CEO Lucky Montana in annual salary and bonuses in the last financial year. PetroSA alone has lost R14 billion.
Clearly there is money, but not for the students and universities who are vital to the future success of our country. It is high time that the government prioritise investment in higher education instead of throwing money away.
Minister Nzimande has also tried to shift the blame for this crisis onto the universities without acknowledging that the funding crisis affects the universities as well as students and young people.
Over the past 20 years university enrolment has more than doubled while funding per student has declined from R 20 000 in 1994 to R15 000 in 2014. Over the same period, university fees have escalated as universities try to make up for their funding shortfalls due to the decline in support from the government.
The DA wants every qualifying learner in South Africa to be given an opportunity to further their education. We ensure this by gradually increase the NSFAS budget to R16 billion so that no student is denied further education because they cannot afford it.
To achieve this, we would expand the capacity of universities and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to provide more opportunities for higher education. The DA is working on a new funding dispensation which includes the following proposals:
-Encouraging the use of skills levy funding for both short courses and long-term studies at universities and FET colleges.
-Providing dedicated funding for the development of scarce skills (e.g. teachers and social workers).
-Expanding the assistance provided through the NSFAS and implementing current proposals to make funding for the full cost of study available as loans to poor students, and then converting them to bursaries if studies are successfully completed.
-Allowing students studying towards qualifications in identified areas, where the public service is in need of skills, to repay public loans through public service.
While Minister Nzimande conceded yesterday that funding for higher education is suffering because of corruption and mismanagement, the fact remains that until we deal decisively with these problems, universities, and ultimately students, will continue to suffer.
This crisis we now have on our hands is a direct result of the ANC government.
DASO is here to say enough is enough. Fire Blade Nzimande now, and get your spending priorities right.
Only then will we start to make real progress towards ensuring that students will not be denied education because of the circumstances of their birth.
Statement issued by Yusuf Cassim MP,DA Shadow deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, 21 October 2015
These remarks were made on 21 October 2015 by DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Yusuf Cassim MP, outside of Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande’s office in Tshwane where the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO) led a protest in solidarity with students across South Africa. Cassim was joined by the DASO SRC President of the University of Pretoria, Kwena Moloto.
